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The big news for the Robotic Empire – Online Store this week is the extremely long awaited release of the EMPLOYER, EMPLOYEE discography! An untold time in the making (the master alone has been done for 4 years), we are absolutely thrilled to finally present this beast to you!

Early pioneers of mixing metal, punk, grind and hardcore, Austin, Texas’ EMPLOYER, EMPLOYEE were almost TOO ahead of their time… blowing away the few that “got it”, leaving others slack-jawed and stunned. We were beyond words when witnessing these fiends in the late 90’s, and in the Robodog heyday were lucky enough to release the sic[sic] CD followup to their classic debut EP, Mother Spain and the Wayfaring Myth. Both of which comprise this stunning discography release.

Recorded back in 1998 and 2000, seriously think for a minute about what you were doing during that timeframe. These guys were busy pushing envelopes left and right, doing things that may seem somewhat commonplace today, but were generally weird and/or unheard of back in those days. They were one of the few bands that flawlessly incorporated both low, growly vocals AND dissonant melody within hardcore music… and beyond that, they actually constructed damn good songs utilizing additional elements pulled from punk, metal and grindcore influences.

The audio has been carefully re-mastered from the original DAT tapes… and ten blistering songs that absolutely stand the test of time are the result of many years of work. The hair-standing lyrics are still just as vital today as in they days which they were written, accompanying waves of distorted yet lush guitars, completely frantic and unique drumming, plus a general energy and passion that is hard sought and much coveted. To put it lightly, EMPLOYER, EMPLOYEE were a band of rare quality.

Part of the reason why this release has taken so long to see the light of the day is the artwork. Originally designed with the CD-sized format of sic[sic] in mind, Aaron Turner’s original layout has been meticulously reconstructed for the vinyl edition. Keeping the feel and theme of sic[sic] in mind, the imagery has been modified to spread across two LP-sized panels of a three-color silkscreened jacket (printed by Broken Press, another photo of which can be seen here). Also included is a double sided photocopied insert, cloth patch, 1″ button and free digital download. We are charging $12.99 for this release; all copies come on clear colored vinyl and the entire pressing is limited to just 300 copies.

A lot of thought and time has gone into the presentation of this release, as it is the last will and testament to a band from another era. EMPLOYER, EMPLOYEE left a lasting impression on us that started over a decade ago, and we’re honored to present this discography for your enjoyment. We hope you’ll take something from it as well.

Phew! Wow, quite a lot to say about a band that only so many people have heard of. PLEASE check out the discography if you can though, we highly recommend it! Beyond that, we’ve also got an outstanding update for the Robotic Empire – Online Store that would be noteworthy even without the EMPLOYER, EMPLOYEE LP:

Standout new stuff this time include the long-awaited DOVE vinyl release (ex-FLOOR, ex-CAVITY, pre-HOUSE OF LIGHTNING), two excellent GRAILS LP reissues on color wax that the band recently re-pressed themselves (both of which we originally released), plus a slew of killer t-shirts officially licensed by Bad Skulls including CHARLES BRONSON, IRON LUNG and SPAZZ! On the re-stock tip we’ve got a handful of distributor-returned BATTLE OF MICE / JESU CDs (last chance to dance on this one), DOLCIM LPs, two shirts from Eat Death and a couple other jammers as well. Here’s the full list:

We’d also like to take this opportunity to point out that we’ve recently dropped another new release, the debut CD from NEON BASTARD, New Zealand’s latest freaks of powerviolence, grind, punk and more. An insanely rad album, we’ve got it available now for only 6 bucks. This and a few other new items & restocks from the last update should probably be reiterated due to sheer crucialness! Plus, a gnarly NEON BASTARD review can (and should) be read here. Here’s that last update’s list of stuff:

YES! Love a big update. Hopefully there’s something in there that strikes ya, and if so please hit up the Robotic Empire – Online Store for all this jibba jab and thousands of other items spanning the underground music universe. PEACE!